Through Your Eyes
by Ravenus
Summary: When Natasha loses her eyesight she needs someone to help her see. And whose eyes would be better than Clint's? Friendship/mild romance. Complete.


**Please note** that this is my very first fanfic for The Avengers and that I have only seen the movie (twice ;) I have never read the comics or else), but I hope to fulfill your expectations. I have to write this because since I have seen the movie for the first time it haunts me (well, kind of^^). I was really surprised that the movie was so well done. I expected a testosterone-race or something like this but the heroes don't take themselves too serious and that creates a well balanced mixture of action and humor. And we also get to know a lot of the characters as well, you can actually see how they develop which I think is a rare thing in such kind of movie.  
I really came to love Clint and Natasha (which was a great surprise as I barely knew they exist until now *coughs*). While watching the movie I just came up with this idea, because eyes and a good/bad eyesight fascinate me.

**Summary:**When Natasha loses her eyesight she needs someone to help her see. And whose eyes would be better than Clint's? Friendship/mild romance (I found they had a nice chemistry in the movie and would like to explore deeper to see what happens :) )

Check out the **sequel: **Open Your Eyes

**Rating: **K+

**Disclaimer:**Any character in this story belongs to Marvel. I own nothing except the plot.

**Through Your Eyes**

She was a real mess by now and she knew it. Her head ached and she could feel blood running down her back, something had cut her shoulder during the long hours of fighting. Natasha fought back another wave of fatigue, her knees weak and her sight blurred. She wasn't a semi God like Thor or had an armor as Tony. She was just a human with human resources and like every other human being she got tired at some point. And she was far beyond tired.

They were out to defend the base for hours and the waves of enemies seemed to have no end. With utter desperation she realized that she had no chance. Steven was by her side and his shield had rescued her more than once during the day. Above she could hear the rumble of Tony's engines when he revved and flew high into the air, attacking a helicopter that threatened to come too close to them. The situation seemed hopeless and she had seen many situations like this so she knew what she was talking about. Nevertheless giving up was not an option in her book and so she regained her stance and ran towards another invader, bringing him down to the ground, crushing his skull on the asphalt.

While she was getting up again she felt Steve coming up behind her, crouching next to her and grabbing her to ward off a series of laser bursts in their direction. She would be dead if it wasn't for him. And Steve would be dead if she hadn't cleared his back a few times. SHIELD was well aware that the threats they were facing grew harder and harder and one agent or one of those super heroes wasn't enough anymore. So this team – called the Avenger Initiative – was the only hope for them. Natasha was proud to be a part of it but in this moment she wasn't sure if she would survive this day. Steve let her go when the shooting stopped and the redhead stood up only to realize that her legs wobbled with the effort. She felt light headed, caused by her fatigue and the loss of blood she suffered.

Swaying back and stumbling she shook her head to clear her mind. It worked and now she drew her weapons. It was dangerous to let the enemy get too close to you when you felt tired and staggered on your legs. Natasha took aim at a group of enemies and fired, the sound ricocheting all around her and especially in her ears. It hurt. Most of the group fell, but she had missed two of them who were now too close to take aim. With a hard swing of her arm she managed to bring down one of the men with a backslap of her hand that held the weapon and he fell to the ground unconscious. The last one came too close. She was well aware that she was too tired, too exhausted to fight him off with her bare hands but she prepared herself nevertheless.

The huge man was fast and he jumped her so fiercely that her eyes grew large. This one was clearly aggressive and eager to kill her. Natasha took a deep breath. As an agent for SHIELD and as an assassin she was always ready to face the worst: death. With a low grunt the man fell onto her but his body was limp. They both fell to the ground, Natasha gasping, the man lifeless. Surprised she got out from underneath the body and saw the arrow in the back of his neck that had killed him instantly.

Relieved she looked up to Clint who stood on the edge of a building – too close to the edge for Natasha's taste – and smirked at her while firing another arrow at another intruder. So the archer had saved her. Again. Steve came up beside her and grabbed her arm to steady her. This time the Russian agent hadn't really noticed that she was stumbling and close to falling. "We need you to get out of here." He said over the loud noise but she tried to break her arm free. It was not easy, the captain had an iron grip on her. She smiled to herself, her head dizzy. And here you would think an iron grip was something to expect from Tony. Her vision faded, she was barely able to keep her eyes open and Steve held her firmly, his shield in front of both of them.

Above their heads Natasha could hear the sound of helicopters. It had to be more than one and she wanted to look up to confirm her assumption, but her head was too heavy to lift her face towards the sky. Another rumble, this time closer and on ground level. She could make out the faint tremble of the earth beneath her feet that was typical for an explosion, along with a shockwave that arrived seconds later. Steve was hurled off his feet and so was agent Romanov. A sharp pain made her stifle a scream, her eyes hurt like hell, a flash of white pain boring into her brain. Then her vision went black and she felt herself hitting the ground. Someone was above her, if friend or enemy she couldn't tell. Just seconds later a body was pressed against her, lying n top of her to shield her from what was about to come next. Clint. "I got you, Tasha. Stay low." He said close to her ear which she nearly wasn't able to hear because of loud explosions thundering around her. Even if she wanted to get up, she was too exhausted. With a shuddering breath she gave in an fell into nothingness.

* * *

Agent Natasha Romanov woke up to the rhythmic sound of beeping noises next to her. So she was alive. And save for the time being, because she lay in a bed that wasn't exactly comfortable but warm. Someone was with her in this room. She could sense it and as she didn't feel alarmed at all she was sure that it was Clint. With heavy eyelids she tried to open her eyes but they were forced shut by a bandage. Panic rose in Natasha and accordingly the machines beeped faster, reading her increasing pulse and heartbeat. Shuffling beside her, the man got up from where he was sitting and came over to her, standing in front of her bed and taking her hands that tried to grab the bandage around her face.

"I'm glad you finally decided to wake up." The archer said. Natasha could hear both concern and a smile in his voice. She wanted to look into his face to know that everything was alright but she was surrounded by darkness. Again she struggled to free her hands from his but he held her gently but firmly. "Don't. Your eyes were hurt. Banner has removed the splinters from your eyes but they need to heal. So the bandage stays in place, understood?" Clint explained and her hands went limp in his grip.

"What happened? Are the others okay?" Was the next thing that came to her mind and another reassuring press was given to her cold fingers.

"We are all alright. Some minor cuts and bruises, Steve got some ribs broken but nothing that won't heal." She breathed a sigh of relieve. "You are the one whose injuries are the worst. But we will get you back on your feet in no time." She nodded, irritated that she couldn't see him while talking to him. Natasha knew that he was right. She had had worse in her life, this was just a minor scratch so to speak. On the other hand she was glad about his reassuring words, it made her feel much better.

"Can I take off these things? It itches and I want to see you when I speak to you." Natasha asked, trying to sound lightly but she could her the edge in her own voice. And her words were greeted by silence which made her nervous. "Clint?"

"I will get Banner. He is better with medical attention than I am." This answer wasn't what she had expected to hear and normally Clint would never try to keep the truth from her. In fact he was always honest and even if he sounded rude, he told her what he was thinking. This was the first time he made a move to escape her. And she had heard the concern and sorrow in Clint's words, that wasn't like him. For a second she felt the urge to tell him to stay but she wasn't a girl, she was an adult and didn't need anybody by her side to hold her hand. Even if it was nice to have someone who was there when you woke up and cared for you. She was happy that she wasn't alone in this room, her eyes blindfolded, IVs in her arm.

With another ruffle of clothes Clint left the room and Natasha was left alone with her thought. Panic rose again, she felt utterly helpless without seeing a thing, felt weak. This time the beeping went back to normal in a few seconds because agent Romanov had a great deal of self control. She would not lose it in a hospital bed when she didn't even know what was really wrong with her. So her eyes were hurt but Banner had removed the splinters and she was awake. Nothing too bad, really. So why did she feel so bad? Something was terribly wrong but at the moment she couldn't say what it was. Digging deep inside she tried to make out what made her so edgy when the door opened again and two pairs of feet moved towards the bed.

"Don't pretend to be asleep, agent, we know you are awake." Banner. He tried to sound light and merry but he also had that strange edge in his voice. With sure movements he checked Natasha's pulse despite the monitors and checked her temperature by placing a hand on her forehead.

"Banner, can you please remove the blindfold?" Natasha asked a little bit too nervous. Bruce's fingers stopped for a second but then he went on with his inspection of the IV and the monitors. Natasha felt Clint walk up on the other side of her bed and before Banner could say another word he placed one hand on top of hers that was resting on the covers of her bed. 'He knows something!' Shot through her head with a sudden sense of clarity. Bruce and Clint had talked before they would talk to her and it made her angry. She wanted to sit up, but another hand held her firmly in place.

"Tell her, Banner." Clint insisted and spoke what Natasha wanted to say as well. Banner finished checking on her and she heard him pull up a chair. He sat down which seemed to take ages and perhaps he wanted to win some more time. With a deep sigh he began to speak.

"Natasha, I'm not quite sure how your eyes feel. That is something only you can tell me." The redhead was a bit surprised by the personal way Banner had addressed her. He had never called her by her first name before.

"I got a headache. But otherwise I feel okay, I guess…" Her voice trailed off and her question hung in the air.

"I have removed all splinters that were in your eyes after the explosion. What you recognize as a headache is in fact the pain in your eyes. And I'm afraid that some of the small, sharp fragments have damaged some nerves in your eyes. I'm not sure how bad the damage is or what it has caused but I want you to know before I take the bandage off: you might have lost your sight." Natasha gasped and wanted to sit up again but again Clint held her firmly in place, one hand still on hers and one on her shoulder.

So many things went through Natasha's head that she wasn't able to focus on one clear thought. She would be helpless for the rest of her life. And useless for SHIELD and the other agents. And for the Avengers. She would miss to see the sun and the sky, because even if she wasn't a sentimental person she loved to see the clouds moving, it gave her a feeling of peace when times were hard. She would miss to see the faces of her friends. It would be hard to talk to people without reading their reactions. She would even miss to see herself in a mirror. How can you know if you look acceptable if you can't see yourself? Shit, this was really bad. Her tough attitude faltered and a terrible trembling began, that shook her whole body. She felt the mattress shift on the side of the bed where Clint stood. He sat down next to her only to be closer. His presence calmed her somewhat and she took a deep breath.

"Is this for sure?" She wanted to know. Before she worried she should check her chances. She had learned that many times before in the field.

"No. It is just an option. Your eyes need to heal. I will now take off the bandage to see how good the process is. Perhaps you will be able to see now. Perhaps later but there is the possibility that you will never see again. That sounds hard but I know you are tough and will face this calmly. Clint offered to help you if you need any help in the first days." So they really had talked about it before. The agent felt small. She hated when people had to look after her, it reminded her of her childhood. She had hated it back then and it hadn't changed. Gritting her teeth Natasha said nothing, just nodded once and then felt Bruce's hands fumbling with the fabric that covered her face.

When the last piece was removed she opened her eyes but instantly panicked because she couldn't see a thing. "I'm blind."She mumbled, then sat up finally, Clint no longer able to hold her down. Her hands carefully touched her eyes but they were open, not closed. She could make out where the light came from, it was darker or lighter in some places but otherwise she saw nothing. No colors, no shadows, just the faint red glow that you see when you close your eyes. She felt a tear slip down her cheek and wiped it away with an angry move. Being weak wouldn't help her and she hated that Banner had seen it. Might have seen it, she couldn't even tell because she couldn't see him. She swore under her breath and felt a heavy hand on her shoulder before she could freak out more than she already had.

"Calm down, Tasha. We will get through this." He told her, his voice soothingly low. "We"… she was not sure what he meant by that, however it gave her a feeling of not having to face this on her own. She nodded slightly, her fingers still on her face, trembling. Again Clint grabbed her hands, forced them down into her lap where he rested one of his on both her folded hands. "Bruce wants to check your eyes. Don't start, okay?" Another nod. A light came on in front of her and it was shone directly into her eyes. It stung but she kept quiet.

"Do you see this? The light I mean, in some way?" Banner asked, his voice neutral, that of a skilled doctor. Natasha nodded.

"I can see that it is there but not the shape, it just gets brighter where the light is." Natasha explained. The light was waved in front of her.

"Can you see that it moves? Tell me where it is now."

"Left side, just above my head." The light moved. "I guess this is just in front of my nose." The light went out. "You turned it off." Natasha felt a squeeze in her shoulder.

"Okay, so your nerves are still working." Banner muttered, more to himself than anyone else in the room. "I will have to cover your eyes again, it will be less exhaustive for them to recover when they are closed constantly." Natasha held out her hand in a gesture that should stop her.

"Can we find another solution than the bandages? If Tony sees them I'll never hear the end of this!" Natasha said with dry humor in her voice but Clint knew that there was also a piece of truth in them. She was afraid that someone would mock her because of her – hopefully temporary – disability. Banner laughed at her comment and nodded.

"We can make you look like a pirate?" He suggested, but Natasha shook her head.

"No. Just not those thick bandages." She demanded. Bruce turned and rummaged through some cabinets, then found what he was looking for and turned to agent Romanov again.

"I will use these patches. They are small and will only cover your eyes so that they will stay closed. They might itch in the beginning because you are not used to them but that will get better when you wear them for a few hours. Try not to scratch." He carefully looked at her fingers, then at Clint who nodded. She had sharp fingernails, they were also partly weapons because her scratches can hurt like hell. Agent Barton had learned this the hard way. "Close your eyes, I will now apply the patches." Natasha did as she was told, her fingers still shaking. It was strange not to see anything and the Russian hoped that she would soon be able to see again. Banner had sounded confident when she had told him that she could see the light, perhaps it was a good sign. She would ask him later.

First she needed to sort things out and think over all the possibilities. She especially needed to know what she would do if she stayed blind for the rest of her life. She had survived a lot – including an assassination on her planned by Clint – and she would handle this as well no matter how it turned out. But it still made her anxious. She was really afraid of being helpless. And afraid of needing help.

When Banner stepped back she carefully touched the patches on her eyes. It must look really awful. She sighed and let her hands drop. "You should get some sleep, Romanov." Banner said with the firm voice of a doctor. "You are still tired and we need you wide awake. So rest!" Natasha shook her head no.

"I can't."She whispered. Banner fumbled with the rack connected to her IV.

"Oh, you can. Believe me." He grinned and gently forced the redhead back into the pillow. She was already dozing off, her lips slightly parted. When Bruce was sure that she was sleeping he looked over her bed at Clint. "I know you want to stay with her but I need to talk to you outside." He said and both men left the sleeping woman alone.

* * *

Clint stood next to the door in front of Natasha's room, his back against the wall, his eyes closed. Banner had given him a lot of information which surprised him a lot. He and Tasha have always been close but normally no doctor ever gave away any information on her health status when she was wounded. Banner was the first to do this so openly. The archer was glad about it because normally he worried until Natasha opened her eyes and told him that she was okay. But this time she wouldn't open her eyes so soon.

The damage should heal within one week. Banner would then remove the pads for good and check on her eyes. If she couldn't see then, chances would be very small. And Clint knew that it would drive her insane. Stark and Banner were already working on a solution, the men not giving up. Tony had already said that this was a challenge for him. Clint was sure that they would make it but at the moment they decided to not tell Natasha anything of this. Rising her hopes when nothing was sure wasn't fair.

Banner had told him that he should look after his friend and Clint was more than fine with this. She would go through various stages: panic, angst, despair, sadness and finally aggression. The last stage was typical for the Russian woman. Under normal circumstances she would grab her weapons and train. She wouldn't do it this time and he would make sure that she wouldn't do something stupid when the anger took hold of her.

He loved to watch her when she was furious. Her eyes would grow hard, full of anger and determination, her lips pressed together tightly and her body full of tension. You shouldn't be in her way when she got angry, her rage was fierce. Smiling slightly he reminded himself that it was her way to work with difficult situations and her rage and anger made her a good agent. It gave her determination. Her will was strong. That was what had fascinated him about her.

Years ago, when SHIELD had ordered the archer to kill Natasha Romanov he had nearly fulfilled this order. But the cherry haired woman had made a huge impression on him and he couldn't deny that she still did. If he had killed her back then he wouldn't have such a strong willed partner, they were a great team. And he would have regretted it. From the first moment on he knew that she was special and not just an assassin. She had her heart in the right place even if she sometimes denied it.

Clint was sure that it would be hard to convince her that she needed help. And even harder that he was the one who offered this help. After all those years Natasha still thought that she owed him because he spared her life. But they have been in so many battles together, they have saved each other so often that he had lost count of it because it really didn't matter. With a deep sigh he entered her room again and took the chair that stood beside her bed. He rested his head next to her on the covers. He wanted to be there when she woke up again. Otherwise she might just stalk off on her own which would be a great mistake because they didn't know this base as good as the one they were normally stationed. He wasn't even sure if Natasha knew where she was… He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It had been really hard to convince her that she needed his help, but after bumping into walls and other people a few times she finally agreed. Like she was a child Clint cared for her. He came over in the morning to guide her through the seemingly endless corridors so that she could take part in their meetings but she never left the building. Natasha had always been a silent person, never saying more than necessary but now she never even said more than 'Good morning' or 'Good night' which worried Clint to no end.

Today Banner would remove the patches and they would check if her eyes had healed but she always shook her head when Banner talked about this. She felt that there was still something wrong and she had given up her hopes. With Clint by her side, one hand on his arm, she walked into the infirmary where Banner was waiting. Tony hovered in the room as well, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes on Natasha. Until now he hadn't made some inappropriate comments on her condition but this was only because Clint always shot him a death glare whenever he looked at Tasha, smirked and opened his mouth.

"The blind widow." Tony said mockingly, this time ignoring Clint's stare which earned him a slap to back of his head from Banner. "What?" Bruce just shook his head and walked over to Natasha to guide her to a chair.

"If you want me to knock him out for you it would be my pleasure." The doctor said with a sideways glance towards Tony who made a what-the-fuck-are-you-talking-about-gesture. The woman just shook her head. So much attention made her uneasy especially as she was already nervous about the result of all this. "Fine. Now relax, Natasha. Everything will be alright." Banner said and knelt in front of her, gently removing the patches. Clint saw her clenching and unclenching her hands and he couldn't resist the urge to walk over and place a heavy, reassuring hand on her shoulder.

When Banner was finished Natasha kept her eyes closed and breathed a few times. The archer could tell that she was nervous as hell even if she tried to hide it behind her cool façade. "Open your eyes." Banner urged her and she complied. Before she said a word Clint could already tell that she couldn't see a thing because her shoulders stiffened and her breath caught in her chest. "Do you see me? Anything?"

"Nothing." She whispered and hid her face in her hands. "I'm blind." The three man in the room looked at each other, Tony silently asking if they should tell her that he and Banner were working on some kind of a cure for her. The archer shook his head no. Perhaps he would tell her later but this was definitely not the time for such news. Especially as they hadn't finished their research yet. He knew what would follow. Natasha had been uncharacteristically still over the last few days, trying to keep her tension and temperament in check but now everything would surface, her anger, her despair and her rage. For now she just sat there, trying to regain her composure. "This means it will forever be like this, Bruce, right? I will never see again." Another glance towards Tony.

"I cannot say this for sure there is always a spark of hope." Banner said. "But at the moment it seems like you are right, Miss Romanov. I'm sorry." The blind agent got up from her chair and took a step forward, bumping into Banner. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it tightly and clenched her fists. For a second Clint was afraid that she would attack the doctor but she simply stood there, her hands reaching out while she tried to find a way out of this room. When Clint came up next to her she shoved him away with so much force that the man stumbled a step back.

"Tasha…" He said mildly but knew better than to get in her way a second time. She turned towards the sound of his voice, her face angry, her eyes focused on some point behind him.

"Shut up, Barton!" She yelled at him so loud that Banner jumped. It hurt, she had long ago given up calling him by his family name, she always called him Clint. Stark whistled which made her turn her head into his direction to shoot him a warning glare. "Say another word, Stark, and I swear, I'll beat the shit out of you!" With unsure movements she tried to make her way to the door, the three man just watching, no one daring to say a word. It was Clint who moved first.

"Get a grip, Natasha." He said with a firm voice and this time he grabbed her arm in an iron grip that nearly made her cry out in pain. "I will get you out of here, we need to talk." Her lips opened to protest. "Now!" Clint said so loud that she stopped struggling against his hold and he lead her out the door. When they were in her room he propelled her against the wall, one hand still holding her arm. "You should thank me that I got you out of this room, because if I let you stay, you would have made a fool of yourself." He sounded harsh but inside she knew that he was right. She just didn't want to hear it right now.

"I need to do something, Clint. I go crazy, just sitting around listening to my own breath. I'm a fighter, I can't just sit and wait." He had enough of it, he wanted the old Natasha Romanov back. The one who stood her ground, the one who would never falter and fight fiercely for what she wanted.

"You wanna fight? Do it. I'm right here. Beat the shit out of me but stop pitying yourself." He actually yelled at her now. Naturally it had the effect on her that he wished for. She gave an angry scream and jumped at him, throwing him to the ground, her fist raised to punch his solar plexus. As Clint was a fighter as well he wouldn't just let her beat him up, he would give her a training lesson to remember. They often went to the gym together, their fights often a reason for the other Avengers to place bets on who wins.

The archer kicked at Natasha's knees and she fell, rolling off him with one smooth movement. When she was fighting she didn't need her eyes, she knew how to react and she heard him breathe heavily, always knowing where he was. She even ducked beneath his arm, when he lashed out for her face. It went on like this for long minutes, both kicking and throwing the other down whenever possible. Clint felt her fists punch his upper arm, she was furious and it hurt like hell. He didn't care, he wanted to give her an opportunity to see that she was blind but not helpless or less of a fighter than before.

In the end they were both lying on the carpet, panting hard, Natasha on her stomach, Clint sitting on her legs, holding her arms behind her in a hard grip so that she wasn't able to move any more. "I will let you go. Promise me that you won't try any more." Natasha nodded, let her forehead fall to the floor.

"Right. Promised. Just get off of me." She panted and the man let her go, falling to the floor beside her. "Thank you, Clint." She whispered, trying to catch her breath that he had knocked out of her. With a smirk he stood up and held out his hand like he always did when he won the fight, but Natasha didn't see it, so he just grabbed hers and pulled her to a standing position with him.

"You're most welcome." He smiled, holding her hand perhaps a second too long before he let go and turned her towards her bathroom. "Now you get a shower. I will do the same and come back over tonight. We will go out, you haven't gotten fresh air for more than a week now. It is time you face the truth. You will need my help for some more time but I know you. It will not last long." His voice was sure and his strength and confidence in her gave her hope. She smiled and reached out with her hands, new determination filling her. If she wasn't able to see she needed to learn to use her other senses more effectively. Maybe the Blind Widow wasn't such an unfitting name…

* * *

It was nice being outside, Natasha thought as she was walking next to Clint, her hand resting on his strong shoulder. She smiled slightly to herself, at least this situation gave her the opportunity to spend more time with her friend. Clint's presence soothed her to no end. He had always had a strong personality that impressed her. But obviously she had left an impression on him, too. In the beginning he had hated the young, furious woman with the red hair, she was sure of it. Wherever she had been he had watched her closely following her every step, every move with his sharp stormy grey eyes. Nick Fury had seen the potential in her as had Clint but they have both handled her so differently that she thought Clint still had yearned to kill her.

Nick Fury had also seen that they could work as a good team and had paired them up so slowly but surely they have become friends, sharing not only their excellent fighting skill but also their worries and problems. Sometimes, when they trained in the gym it seemed like the old hatred was reborn but afterwards they would go to their rooms, chatting animatedly like nothing happened.

Natasha had learned to trust him and even if he was the man who should have assassinated her, he was now the best friend she ever had. He knew so much about her that it sometimes scared the Russian woman. Otherwise it was nice to finally have someone who knew her better than herself. She had always been a loner, like him. Maybe that was what made them such a good team: they fully understood each other.

Natasha had tried to keep track of where they were heading but she gave up, her own thoughts had distracted from that task. The whole time they walked in silence, comfortable with not speaking but Natasha was curious. "Clint, where are we?" She wanted to know.

"I need to show you something. Just a few steps ahead is a huge building. We will go up to the roof." He told her. Natasha hesitated before she answered.

"If you want to show me the beautiful sunset, I have to disappoint you…" The redhead said, her voice dripping with old sarcasm and new uncertainty. She had always been sarcastic, she couldn't help it. It has become a shield to ward off things that would otherwise hurt her. Uncertainty was new because she had no chance to see where she would be going. Clint stopped and held open a door for her, ushered her inside a building that was quiet except for the faint humming of the AC somewhere above her head.

"It's not the sunset, stupid." Clint laughed. A low rumble deep in his chest. Then he lead her on to what she guessed was an elevator, because after stopping for a minute they walked a few steps and it felt like a small room. She was right. They moved up towards the roof.

"Why do you bring me here?" She asked into the silence of the small space. Clint had let go of her and she leaned against a wall as they were making their way to the top floor by floor.

"It might seem strange at first but you will see."

"I will not." She answered her voice bitter. A second later she started when she felt his hand below her chin lifting her face towards his.

"Don't talk like you have given up. You will not give up, I'll make sure of it." The man said, clearly pissed off by her words. Wow, he acted as if he was the one who was hurt. She was kind of surprised. They were friends but she would never have guessed how much he really cared. "You WILL see." He repeated his words and let go of her chin, but not without caressing her soft skin in the most gentle way. She suppressed the gasp that wanted to fall from her lips and simply kept quiet for the rest of the short ride.

The elevator directly opened on the roof. She felt a sharp wind tear at her hair and clothes so she kept very close to Clint, her fingers grabbing his jacket for dear life. The man took sure steps, he was used to being up high on the buildings that normally only surrounded other people. Natasha felt sick, she never got used to being up so high and now that she couldn't see a thing it was even worse. Clint made her walk a few steps, clearly to the edge of the building. The howling of the wind subsided and it went still, she could only hear some noises from down the street but they were very far away. This must be a high building.

She trembled slightly, but then Clint placed himself behind her, one arm around her shoulders, the other around her waist, holding her safely to his warm body. When he spoke near to her ear she felt his breath caress the skin of her neck and this time she couldn't suppress a gasp. "This is how I see when I stand on a roof, bow in my hand." The man behind her whispered.

"What?" Natasha was distracted, she could feel the deep gap in front of her and the heat of the firm body behind her. It made her brain slow and she was afraid and felt safe at the same time.

"Do you really think that my eyesight is better than that of other humans? You have seen me, I sometimes do not even look when I'm shooting an arrow." She certainly had noticed but never asked twice. His skill was incredible, had saved her life more than once so who was she to question it? "I have learned to scan my surroundings with every sense. I hear it on the wind when somebody approaches from behind. I can feel it in the wind how it will carry my arrow. I could shoot blind if necessary and I have done it a hundred times. And you can manage this as well. Believe me, you will be fiercer than ever and your enemies will fear you."

Natasha said nothing. Instead a silent tear escaped her eyes that she wanted to wipe away but could not because Clint held her so tight against him. It was strange that somebody really cared if she felt good or not. It was strange that finally someone bothered to give her new strength. She had always motivated herself, her insides turned to steel so that she could do her work efficiently and nothing could hurt her. But Clint had the ability to melt it down like it was just nothing.

He had seen the tear rolling down her beautiful face and turned her around in his arms to hug her close to him. The woman gave a content sigh and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "Clint, I'm so scared." She whispered, her voice muffled by the fabric of his jacket. "I feel helpless because I don't know where my next step leads me, I simply cannot see my own path. I'm afraid that I will never see the sun again. I love to be out under the blue sky. I fear that I cannot be helpful to SHIELD any longer because I can do absolutely nothing. And now I'm a burden to you, because you have to look after me like I'm a child." Natasha blurted out, the words falling from her lips, she was unable to stop them.

Clint took some steps back from the edge of the building, leading Natasha with him. "You have never been a burden to me, ever. In fact I'm more than happy to have you as a friend." He said to her, again lifting her chin with his hand. "It is a great honor to have you by my side, my beautiful Natasha." He whispered and her breath caught in her throat at those words. Her knees went weak when she felt his lips brush over hers ever so slightly and when he pulled back she followed the movement begging for more. The cherry haired woman felt him exhale, his hot breath tingling over her skin, she knew he fought for control, but he lost.

With one swift movement he turned Natasha around and pressed her against a wall she didn't know was there and leant himself close against her body before his lips claimed hers again in a passionate kiss. He had held back so long, yearned to do this for such a long time and she could feel it now that he finally held her so close, his lips moving against hers. The woman gave a small whimper that was answered by a low growl in his chest when his hands landed on her hips, wandering up her sides only to go down again to rest on her stomach. She trembled under his hands, seeking close contact, her arms thrown around his neck.

When they finally came apart for air he let his head fall onto her shoulder, burying his face in her hair that smelled like strawberries, kissing the side of her neck, breathing heavily. None of them said a word, they just held each other close, enjoying the warmth of their bodies. Her fingers went up and down his arms, over his shoulders to his neck and down again. She had always admired his body.

After what felt like an eternity Clint placed a soft kiss behind her ear, his lips trailing the sensitive shell until he was close enough to tell her what burnt on his lips for years. "I love you, Natasha Romanov."

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FIN

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Wow… While writing this I have also read some stories and there have been posted so many over the last week. And a huge part of them featuring Clint and Tasha. Nice :)

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Please review.


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